James Harden, the N.B.A.’s One-Man Band, Hits a High Note

Harden’s 57 points against Memphis accounted for more than half of his team’s total helping make up for his lack of a supporting cast.

No Chris Paul. No Eric Gordon. No Clint Capela. No problem. The Houston Rockets still have James Harden.

In a mind-boggling performance, Harden and his supporting cast — if you can call it that — managed to beat the Memphis Grizzlies by 112-94 at Houston’s Toyota Center, with Harden scoring 57 points in 34 minutes.

It was the 17th game in a row in which Harden scored at least 30 points — a feat previously accomplished in a single season by only Wilt Chamberlain — and it was Harden’s third game of 50 or more points this season. No other player has more than one.

Coach Mike D’Antoni may have recorded the 600th win of his N.B.A. career in the game, but he was more interested in making sure people recognized the greatness of Harden’s feat.